On the Two Major Approaches in Historiography of Mathematics

The Historiography of Mathematics has undergone a radical change in recent years, and the previous approach, which already has led to the writing of influential books in History of Mathematics is no longer considered as appropriate by a new generation of historians of mathematics, or at least some of them. The new perspective on History of Mathematics is completely different from the previous point of view, and considers as important historical facts which, in the eye of old historians, seemed to be inessential. The difference between these two views, which is based on different epistemological assumptions, leads to two completely distinct positions in Historiography of Mathematics. This situation sets the two traditions against each other. In this article, each one of these two different tradition, their features, assumptions, and results will be introduced, then the roots of the opposition between them will be discussed, and finally I will try to introduce a new approach in Historiography of Mathematics that tends to reduce the tension between them.